Keeping Warm with Pork Belly !!!

After a brisk snowshoe through the forest, Lynn warmed us up with her delicious Morning Glory muffins and coffee.  Yum!

Sunshine is the perfect tonic against the cold temperatures

February has officially been declared the coldest month on record here in South-Western Ontario! Nonetheless, we have managed to enjoy it by embracing the winter weather and spending as much time as possible in the great outdoors-snowshoeing,skiing, shovelling .....   In addition, the requirements of being responsible dog owners include giving them lots of exercise and the opportunity to play in the fresh air - well, Wally and Baldur are certainly thankful to us for their daily walks on the golf course!!

But honestly, there is nothing like comfort food to warm your insides during these long stretches of frigid weather. Pork belly is an iconic comfort food. This recipe looks lengthy, but believe us, it is worth the effort!  We clearly outline the basic steps for low and slow grilling of pork belly. The results are melt-in-the-mouth delicious!!

This pork belly can be prepared on the barbecue, using a heavy pot, such as a dutch oven.

Sticky Glazed Pork Belly and Scallops in Savoury Broth

Pork belly:

2 lb pork belly, piece with skin removed

For the rub:

½ tsp black peppercorns

1 star anise

1 tsp chinese 5-spice

½ tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

For the braising liquid:

1 head garlic, peeled

1 tablespoon ginger, grated

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

½ fennel bulb, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3 sprigs thyme

2 bay leafs

1 ½ cups dry white wine

6 cups chicken stock

Oil for basting

For the glaze:

4 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

¼ cup mirin(or sweet white wine)

Scallops

2 lbs scallops

 For the marinade:

2 tbsp ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 shallots, minced

2 tbsp canola oil

1/2  cup white wine

2 tbsp sweet chili sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

Garnish:

4 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

For the Pork Belly:

Preheat the barbecue and set it to cook at 300°F.  Coarsely grind the peppercorns, star anise and fennel seeds together with the cinnamon and Chinese 5-spice in a coffee grinder. Toast over low heat for about 1 minute, then rub this spice mixture over the surface of the pork belly.

Using either the barbecue, or  in a heavy dutch oven on the stove top, sear the pork well on both sides.  Remove from heat.  Heat 2 tbsp of canola oil in the dutch oven and add the garlic, ginger, carrots, celery, onion, fennel, thyme and bay leaves. Cook slowly until the vegetables are tender. Add the wine and reduce by half. Add the pork belly and the chicken stock to the dutch oven, cover and place in the closed barbecue or oven for 2 hours.  

Remove from the barbecue or oven and take the pork from the vegetable mixture. Reserve the liquid and vegetables in a large measuring cup. Place in the refrigerator to cool and allow the fat to solidify. Skim fat off the top and discard. Place reserved broth in the refrigerator.

Pressing the pork belly under a heavy cast iron pot 

Place the pork belly between 2 rimmed baking trays and place a heavy object on top of this stack to weigh it down.  Put it in a cold place for at least 3 hours ( we put it outside, with a heavy cast iron pot on top). This will compress the pork belly, so that the layers of fat and meat meld together and the pork belly piece becomes uniform , making it easy to portion it into 16 smaller chunks. It is now ready to finish on the grill with the glaze.

Pressed pork belly is ready to be cut into portions

For glazing:

Combine the brown sugar, soy sauces and mirin in a medium saucepan or bowl. Set the grill to cook on MEDIUM. Toss the pork belly chunks with the glaze and place on the grids. Grill for 3-4 minutes per side. Brush liberally with glaze. Meanwhile, remove the broth and vegetables from the refrigerator and heat it up.

For the Scallops: 

Season the scallops with salt and pepper. 

Gently saute the ginger, garlic and shallots in canola oil in a large saute pan, for 2-3 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the white wine, reduce by half.  Add the sweet chili sauce and lime juice. Cool this mixture and add scallops to marinate for 20 minutes.  Place the scallops on the grill, set at MEDIUM and grill for 2 minutes per side, brushing with the marinade as they cook. Be cautious not to over cook the scallops.

To serve:

Divide the scallops between 8 serving bowls.  Ladle the broth and vegetables over the scallops and place the glazed pork belly chunks on top. Garnish with basil and green onions.

Always happy to help with recipe development!

Sam and Eric coloured Easter eggs for the table.

Easter Weekend means lots of family and friends coming in and out of the house all weekend long giving us many opportunities to gather around our tables with a big group.  This week’s menu showcases the versatility of cooking on the Broil King Keg.  We were able to fire up the Keg for the whole day:  while the duck, pork bellies and crown roast co-mingled throughout the day, we could devote ourselves to prep of the side dishes.  

Smoked Duck with Mango Salsa

2 cups shredded and chopped smoked duck

Tostido Scoops

Mango Salsa

2 ripe mangos, diced

4 scallions, white and green parts chopped finely

1 small hot red pepper

2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Juice of one lime

1 tablespoon honey

Combine all salsa ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for an hour to combine flavours.

To assemble,  spoon some prepared duck into the corn scoops, then top with mango salsa.

We love having all these young people home!!!

A big gathering always provides us with the opportunity to try something new. When we know that there are going to be lots of willing helpers around, we can create a dish that requires a bit of assembly, knowing that they will make quick work of the job. This is what we came up with when inspired by the beautiful quail eggs and pork belly that we found at the Asian Supermarket last week.  This dish would make an excellent main course, sure to impress your guests!

Deconstructed Caesar Salad

1 pork belly(2 lbs)*(follow link for recipe to grill the pork belly), sliced

1 pack quail eggs (18/container), hard boiled

2 heads of romaine lettuce, cut in 1 1/2-inch thick slices

1 cup Caesar salad dressing *(recipe below)

1 cup homemade croutons

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 lemon

Prepare pork belly as instructed.

To  hard boil quail eggs: Place quail eggs in a large pot of cold water(with 2 tbsp of vinegar) and bring to a boil, reduce and let sit for 5 minutes. Remove eggs from hot water and immerse in a large bowl of cold water . Allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Once the eggs are cooled, they should be peeled, in order to prevent discolouration of the egg whites.

Assemble salad: Arrange lettuce slices on plates. Top with pork belly, 2 quail eggs, grated parmesan cheese and a few crouton. Spoon 2 tbsp salad dressing  over  top. Garnish with a lemon slice.

Kris started the duck and pork bellies in the morning.

Blender Caesar Salad Dressing:

This recipe will make more than you need, but can be stored in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for a week.

4 medium garlic cloves

1 small can anchovy filets

2 large eggs

6 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp worchestershire sauce

2 tsp grainy Dijon mustard

½ cup parmesan cheese, grated

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil

With the metal blade fitted into a food processor, or blender, process garlic cloves until finely chopped. Add the anchovy filets and egg and continue processing for 30 seconds. Add the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, worchestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and parmesan cheese, mixing until well blended. With the machine running, pour the olive oil slowly into the processor in a steady stream. Dressing should become thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and add more parmesan cheese, if desired.

 

Crown Roast of Pork on the Smoker

We smoked both a crown roast and a pork rack together because of the numbers around our table.  They were equally delicious, but Ted thought the pork rack stayed moister.

I crown roast of pork (12 ribs)

¼ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon each thyme, sage, tarragon

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Prepare the smoker according to our instructions, and fill the diffuser with water.   Mix together the brown sugar, herbs and spices in a small bowl and rub them all over the roast.  Place the pork on the smoker, and maintain a temperature of 275°F for 5 hours.  During the last hour, we scattered some whisky soaked oak chips over the coals. 

Slice thickly, 1 rib bone per person.  Serve with apple sauce.

Apple Sauce

10 Macintosh apples, peeled and thickly sliced

¾ cup sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

Place the prepared apples, sugar and cinnamon in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring, then reduce the temperature to medium low.   As the apples soften, crush them with a wooden spoon until the mixture is chunky but cooked and the sugar has dissolved.  Let cool.  May be prepared up to 3 days ahead. 

Two celebrations at once:  Hal's birthday and Easter.  Li-mei and Zoli created this Pavlova for Hal. 

                      

 Pavlova

 4  egg whites , at room temperature

¼  teaspoon  salt

¼ teaspoon  cream of tartar

 1 cup  fine granulated sugar

 4 teaspoons  corn starch

 2 teaspoons  white wine vinegar

 1 teaspoon  vanilla extract

 1 cup  whipping cream,  chilled

 3 cups  strawberries,  hulled and sliced

Preheat oven to 275 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or butter and lightly flour it.

Beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar together in a bowl until the whites hold stiff peaks.  Add the sugar a few tablespoons at a time and continue beating until stiff and glossy.  Add the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla.  Beat again to combine well.

Spread the meringue mixture on the prepared baking sheet, forming an 8" circle, with the edges slightly higher than the middle, forming a depression.

Bake 1-1 ¼ hours, until the meringue is firm and lightly browned.  It will be moist inside.  Cool completely.

Slide the meringue onto a serving plate.  Just before serving, lightly whip the cream and top with strawberries. 

Maple Glazed Smoked Pork Belly

 

Andrea and I love good food and also have a great interest in creating a healthy lifestyle for ourselves and our families – which probably contributed to my pursuit of food and nutrition studies in university. It is the perfect background to have when developing recipes for food cooked on the smoker.  At the top of our minds are always 2 goals - creating food that is both healthy and delicious. SO here goes with this recipe for smoked pork belly using the Broil King Keg. We combed over a lot of recipes for braised pork belly in the process,   including some that  called for the addition of large quantities of oil  to the pork belly while marinating, cooking and finishing*! DO you really need to add more fat when cooking pork belly??  We decided to try to moderate on this ingredient, and make sure that each ingredient that we used was essential for delicate, flavor packed, mouth-watering pork belly.

* Lang, Adam Perry, 2009. Serious Barbecue, Smoke, Char, Baste, & Brush Your Way to Great Outdoor Cooking, Hyperion.

Maple Glazed Smoked Pork Belly
 

 Important to know:  1) You will need to marinate the pork belly at least  12 hours  ahead of cooking and   2) Cooking Time is 7-8 hours

One 3-4 pound pork belly piece

Marinade:

¼  cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice

¼  cup apple cider vinegar

8 cloves garlic

2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

¾   tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp crushed red chili peppers

1 cup water

Maple Glaze:

1/4  cup Jack Daniels

½  cup maple syrup

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped

2 tbsp apple cider

½  tsp dried chili pepper flakes

Final seasoning:

1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 tbsp chopped green onions

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt

Marinate pork belly:

12-24 hours ahead of time, combine marinade ingredients in food processor and blend until garlic is finely chopped. Place pork belly in a large resealable plastic bag and pour over marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

Cooking the pork belly:

Set up the Broil King Keg with enough lump hardwood charcoal for 8 hours of cooking at 250⁰F.  Soak 1-2 cups of fruit wood chips for smoking.  This is also be cooked using the gas barbecue set on low (275⁰F). Be very vigilant of watching for flare-ups during the final stage of grilling, when applying the glaze.  Place the pork belly into a similar sized rectangular disposable aluminum tray and pour marinade and 1 cup water over top. Cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and seal edges tightly so that steam does not escape.  Place in the smoker and cook at 250⁰F for 5 ½  hours.

Remove pan from smoker, and with foil still sealed tightly, allow pork belly to rest in the liquid in the pan for 2 hours.

Smoking and glazing:

Add soaked woodchips to smoker and open vents to bring oven temperature to 375⁰F.  Remove pork belly from pan and reserve cooking liquid. The pork belly will be quite delicate at this point and will require gentle handling during the final grilling process.  In order to facilitate this, organize to have a wire grilling basket on hand. The basket will help maintain the rectangular shape of the pork belly and prevent the skin from sliding around.  If not available, use a wire rack and a  very large spatula for carefully turning the pork belly on the grids.  Place pork belly skin side down on a wire grilling basket . Place on smoker and allow skin to crisp for 15 minutes. Monitor for flare ups. Meanwhile, prepare glaze by combining Jack Daniels, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, chopped parsley, cider vinegar and red pepper flakes in a glass dish.  Carefully remove pork belly from smoker and brush all over with glaze.  Return to smoker and cook for 5 minutes, carefully turn, apply remaining glaze and cook for another 5 minutes. The pork belly will be finished when the glaze caramelizes on the meat and is a beautiful glossy dark brown.

Finishing:

Scatter chopped parsley , green onions, salt and pepper on the cutting board and sprinkle with apple cider vinegar. Carefully remove the pork belly from the basket or wire rack and place on top of this mixture. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Turn and rub mixture on the other side. Gently cut into one and a half-inch square cubes, continuing to dredge in the finishing mixture.

Sauce:

The reserved cooking liquid can be used as a flavourful sauce, once the fat has been poured off.  Pour reserved liquid into a large glass measuring cup. Pour off the fat that has floated to the top. Skim or spoon off the final inch or so, using a tablespoon.   Add any remaining glaze to this mixture. Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat and cook for another 10 minutes. This sauce is delicious poured onto the prepared pork belly and simply boiled new potatoes and wilted kale cooked with garlic and lemon juice. 

We enjoyed it again on Sunday for lunch, in a delicious Canadian sandwich featuring pork belly, Old Canadian cheddar cheese and thinly sliced apples. It was the perfect meal to get us ready for an energetic ski around the golf course!

Nora, Bev, Briar and Pepper

And now we're back to cooking in the snow!!!